Latest News

As noted in today's stories, several major developments have occurred regarding the search for a permanent Buffalo Public Schools superintendent.
State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia has... Read More

During last week's Buffalo School Board meeting, Interim Superintendent Darren Brown and members of the minority bloc took issue with a Buffalo News story recounting their first visit with state... Read More

As noted in our news coverage, including today's story, the Buffalo school district has 25 schools facing an outside takeover or "receivership" within the next one-to-two years. Most immediately,... Read More

Buffalo News Reporter Tiffany Lankes and WBFO'S Eileen Buckley, in a conversation recorded after Thursday's visit by new state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia to the Sweet Home Schools, recap... Read More

As noted in today's story, outside lawyers are increasingly being used to mediate disputes among members of the Buffalo School Board and to defend against legal complaints filed against them. This... Read More

Please join us for live coverage of tonight's July 8 meeting, starting at 5:30 p.m. This will be the first school board meeting for Interim Superintendent Darren Brown, the district's former... Read More

Darren J. Brown, the Buffalo Public Schools' new interim superintendent, may not be known to much of the general public, but he's well known within the district, as noted in today's story and prior... Read More

Gerald J. Stuitje, the school business administrator who in recent years helped lead the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District through some of its toughest financial challenges, is set to resign his post... Read More

Williams hasn’t been back to the city since he was forced out of the district back in 2011. As noted in today’s story, though Williams wore out his welcome after six years, in retrospect, it... Read More

About the reporters

Denise Jewell Gee joined The Buffalo News in 2007 and currently covers education and suburban schools. She also writes a column for the City & Region section and previously covered government in Erie County and Niagara Falls. Gee graduated from Boston University with degrees in journalism and political science.

Tiffany Lankes joined The Buffalo News in 2013 and primarily covers the Buffalo Public Schools. She has written about education since 2003 at newspapers in Florida and New York. In 2008, she was a nominated finalist for The Pulitzer Prize. Lankes is an Amherst native and graduate of Sacred Heart Academy and Syracuse University. She started her journalism career writing for the News' NeXt section.

Sandra Tan has been a cityside reporter for The Buffalo News since 2000 and currently covers the Buffalo Public Schools beat. She previously covered the Williamsville school district and was a full-time education reporter for five years prior to joining The News. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Deidre Williams began working for The Buffalo News in 1999 and currently covers Buffalo Public Schools. She formerly was a suburban reporter on the Northtowns beat and has been a cityside reporter covering communities since 2004. Williams has a mass communications degree from Towson University.